Los Angeles Architectural History

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Last month I turned to my friends and asked them for help to make Thanksgiving dinners for many of the homeless of Los Angeles possible.

Below is the November 2010 end of the month update from Andy Bales of Union Rescue Mission.

Many of you who are reading this helped make these Thanksgiving dinners possible. Thousands of dinners were served on two days. Just under 7,000 meals were served on the Saturday before Thanksgiving day and on Thanksgiving day itself. 4,500 meals were served on the Saturday Thanksgiving event which was quite amazing considering it was raining and the event which was set up outside on the street had to be moved inside at the last moment.

I would like to take a moment to thank my friends and my friends in the music industry who donated money to Union Rescue Mission and who passed on the word and asked their friends to help. We raised close to 1,500 meals for people that do not have much to give thanks for and would not have had a meal of this kind.

We now have Christmas on the horizon. I am asking for help again.

This is from Union Rescue Mission: As for Christmas, we are serving Christmas Day meals (on the 25th) and hosting our annual Christmas Store on Dec. 16th and 17th. You may want to let your readers know that Christmas Day is already booked with volunteers, meaning we have all the help needed for that day.

Comment on the above from URM from me - they are saying they have volunteer help in the form of people. Please do not confuse this with thinking they do not need financial help and donations which are critically needed.

The economy continues to take a toll. Compared to just one year ago the services at http://www.urm.org/ have increased by over 40% while their donations have dropped over 20%. Things are critical to say the least and the end of the year is going to be very difficult.

If you have been watching the news you know that in this month of December unemployment benefits will be cut off for more than 2 million more Americans. Just one more wrench tossed into the machine of an already difficult holiday season for so many.

My thanks to the volunteers and staff at Union Rescue Mission. It is an honor to be associated with you people. Looking at the 450,000 people in California alone who will lose their unemployment benefits this month; either by having them expire or have them cut off before the 99 week period due to our government ending them prematurely, it looks like Union Rescue Mission may be a lifeboat to an even larger population.

I am reaching out to my friends, to my associates in the music industry and to others that would like to help those less fortunate during this holiday season once again.

This year, more people than ever before in our nation's history are facing a difficult holiday season.

The economy continues to take a toll on the population. I personally see the numbers of homeless increase month after month on the streets of Los Angeles.

Homeless is not a label which is reserved for people who have mental problems, drug or alcohol problems or have personality disorders. There are people on the streets like you and me. People who were a productive part of society who have lost their jobs due to the economy. People who have lost their homes. People who have made a transition from a home to a car to the street.

Union Rescue Mission is the oldest and largest of the Los Angeles missions. They are highly organized, very efficient and have a track record of long term recovery that goes back over 100 years. The stretch a dollar farther than anybody I have seen stretch a dollar. URM provides a full meal for about $1.84.

I am asking my friends for help once again.

There are a number of ways you can help. The bullet points below hit the high points. Further down in this piece there are additional details.

You may contribute in ANY amount. Even a few dollars helps. $10 will feed five people.

All contributions are 100% tax deductible

All credit cards are accepted on a secure site. Paypal is also an accepted form of payment.

You may donate $10 (feed a family of five people) via a text message from your cell phone. To donate $10 to Union Rescue Mission, text the letters URM to 85944. You will receive a confirmation text message. Reply with the word YES to complete the transaction. Takes seconds to make huge impact on somebodies life.

Do you have a few dollars in your paypal account that is not enough for your next desired purchase? Even a few dollars helps. Many of you have spare change sitting in your paypal account. That $8.43 that may not enough to buy a book off Amazon or a cool effects pedal off of Ebay. On the URM page you can donate in any amount and they will put it together with other donations to provide a holiday meal that will make a difference in a life.

There are many additional ways to help those in need who are served by the folks at Union Rescue Mission.

In reference to unemployment benefits running out for so many more people today AND the fact that the cold weather is upon us:

The Union Rescue Mission Winter Shelters open tomorrow. www.urm.org receives funding to run four winter shelters throughout the area in West Los Angeles, Glendale, Culver City and at URM. In essence URM gets paid for a certain number of cots per location and we receive a certain number of hotel vouchers for families. They serve many more more people than they get paid for. Winter dives up their meals and shelter per night number up dramatically.

This is from Union Rescue Mission: As for Christmas, we are serving Christmas Day meals (on the 25th) and hosting our annual Christmas Store on Dec. 16th and 17th. You may want to let your readers know that Christmas Day is already booked with volunteers, meaning we have all the help needed for that day.

Comment on the above from URM from me - they are saying they have volunteer help in the form of people. Please do not confuse this with thinking they do not need financial help and donations which are critically needed.

Below are a few of my cell phone shots of the Thanksgiving dinners at Union Rescue Mission. Nicer shots are available at www.flickr.com/urmmedia that show more of the events. Once again, thank you to so many of you reading this for your help in donating close to 1,500 dinners for these events.

Myles Rose is the founder of ﻿Guitar Amplifier Blueprinting which provides support services and training for touring bands and individuals as well as blueprinting services. You may contact me from the link. My direct contact information is provided as well as links to two of the Internet forums where I answer technical questions. You may also ask questions in any post in this blog by using the comment application on each post.

When I am not doing something related to music I do what I can to support the homeless of Los Angeles either directly on the streets at night or through my good friends at Union Rescue Mission.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

As I was driving home a song came on the radio on a country station. I have one country station preset and three rock station presets that range from classic rock to today's rock.

The song was "All I want for Christmas is you" came on the air. It was being sung by a country singer who did a good job but could not hold a candle to the original artist, Mariah Carey.

When I arrived home I turned on my PC.

I was in luck. My Uverse was operational which has not been the case much in the last week.

I looked up the song by Mariah Carey. There were many versions from the past years.

I found one version that caught my attention which I posted to facebook.

My comment on the post was: For the holiday season. A bit old, a bit dated, grainy video. But a great crossover of so many music periods from the Phil Spector's wall of sound days, backup harmonies of the sixties that set standards used today, video style of the sixties, a great voice, a great piece of writing from Mariah that has been covered by so many other folks today.

The production and video reminded me of TV shows of the era; Whisky a-go-go, 9th Street West, Lloyd Thanxton, Shindig! and other music shows decades before MTV was even a dream.

Comments started to be written to my facebook wall. I commented back to some of the comments: When I was 17 I had a girlfriend, Kathleen B. Henn who was a dancer on Whisky-a-go-go and Shindig TV shows. She later became a stewardess for Eastern Air Lines and told me their motto was ... "when the birds won't fly Eastern will". She lived on Calneva in Encino. If anybody knows where she is let me know as she was very cool and I would bet she would still be cool today.

I thought back on what I had done in my life to this point and was somewhat amazed I made it this far.

I have often remarked that photographs are for people who can not remember things in their life. Photographs are nice to share with others though. I have been taking photographs since I was about 13 years old. I rhought of the photos I had in storage where my boys live. Many of them going back to about Junior High School. Most folks reading this might not even know what I am talking about when I say Junior High School.

The sixties and all that come to the minds of many when they think about this era. I was in the middle of it all.

Over my life I have been asked; "if you could pick when you were born what would be your choice?" My reply has never changed. I would want to be born when I was born.

Psycedelics, concerts, The Fillmore, Haight-Ashbury, The Cheetah, Sunset Strip, driving my 1957 MGA on Sunset Blvd from the sea to the end of the strip, Vietnam was probably the only downside to the era.

The Shangri La's who were a part of my life prior to the British Invasion. I posted a video set of them and wrote this to my boys as I shared the link with them on facebook: To my two boys - go into your mom's cabinet where my photos are and look at the pictures of my car with the girl checking the oil, on the roof, under the car and in the trunk and then look at the lead singer in these videos.

I posted a video link to the Ronettes with a comment: Check out the backup dancers. Things have come further with dance than they have even progressed with audio and video advances :-)

I look back on the path I walked to get where I stand today. My most recent status update on facebook prior to writing this blog entry was: I heard a song on the radio when I was driving home which made me look up the original song on youtube. Looking at some of those videos I recalled the past and wondered how I ever made it to my current age and makes me realize that if I died tonight, as one song lyric from the past says ... " long time comin' " and I would not think I left all that much uncovered or not experienced.

In the Mariah video some of the things I like:

1 - the backup singers and their harmony arrangement
2 - Mariah's mini-dress being even shorter than the dresses on the dancers
3 - Recalling how Carol Norman in High School used to be sent home at least once a week for her mini-shirt being too short.

Myles Rose is the founder of ﻿Guitar Amplifier Blueprinting which provides support services and training for touring bands and individuals as well as blueprinting services. You may contact me from the link. My direct contact information is provided as well as links to two of the Internet forums where I answer technical questions. You may also ask questions in any post in this blog by using the comment application on each post.

When I am not doing something related to music I do what I can to support the homeless of Los Angeles either directly on the streets at night or through my good friends at Union Rescue Mission.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

November 2010 end of the month update from Andy Bales of Union Rescue Mission http://www.urm.org/

In the video Andy mentions the Thanksgiving event of 11/20/10. There is another Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow on 11/25/10 on actual Thanksgiving day as well.

Many of you who are reading this helped make these Thanksgiving dinners possible. Thousands of dinners were served on two days. I would not be surprised if the number was somewhere near 10,000 meals.

We now have Christmas on the horizon and I will be posting this once again. I will be asking for help again. The economy continues to take a toll. Compared to just one year ago the services at http://www.urm.org/ have increased by over 40% while their donations have dropped over 20%. Things are critical to say the least and the end of the year is going to be very difficult.

I would like to take a moment to thank my friends and my friends in the music industry who donated money to Union Rescue Mission and who passed on the word and asked their friends to help. We raised close to 1,500 meals for people that do not have much to give thanks for and would not have had a meal of this kind.

My thanks to the volunteers and staff at Union Rescue Mission. It is an honor to be associated with you people.

﻿

Myles Rose is the founder of ﻿Guitar Amplifier Blueprinting which provides support services and training for touring bands and individuals as well as blueprinting services. You may contact me from the link. My direct contact information is provided as well as links to two of the Internet forums where I answer technical questions. You may also ask questions in any post in this blog by using the comment application on each post.

When I am not doing something related to music I do what I can to support the homeless of Los Angeles either directly on the streets at night or through my good friends at Union Rescue Mission.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Last Sunday a friend dropped by with an apple pie. She has been a great friend for decades and a great chef in her own right but I digress.

Earlier that day I had been talking to somebody who asked me a question. They asked me if I felt there was a good reason for marriage. I expressed my thoughts. Later I talked about this topic with my friend who brought me the pie.

I voiced my thoughts on various aspects of why I felt people get married. Building and sharing a life. Building and raising a family. Many of the reasons seemed very obvious. There are countless reasons for marriage just as there are countless reasons not to be married.

Over the last few days thoughts would dart in and out of my mind. Reasons for marriage change as we grow older. Security? Companionship? Friendship? Sharing a recall of things two people have accomplished together in life?

I recall a conversation with a friend who wanted to leave his wife. His reason to me was, she does not want to climb mountains with me.....
I felt his logic was a bit shallow when this statement was made to me over a decade ago.

He did not see how much she cared for him and how she altered much of her own life to support him in his quest to build a business (he was already gainfully employed as a side note). She supported his hobbies and interests. She helped him accomplish his dreams in his own life. She was there to catch him when he would fall.

He was not able to see what she had done for him as they built a life and raised a daughter. The importance of her past work, love and effort were overshadowed by his own desires to climb a mountain.

In the end, her intentions and real actions carried little weight. The lack of climbing mountains was the logic he used to end the relationship.

So often in the end one person just turns their back on the other and walks away. Marriage? Vows? Promises? Government? The economy? There are a lot of folks out there that just quit, lie or just give up.

One just walks away.

As we grow older our accomplishments are behind us rather than in front of us. Some people have an adverse reaction to growing older. Many look as their life as a race to try to accomplish all possible things before the grow old. Wake up folks. If you are acting like this you may already be old.

One must earn growing old. It is not something that you can just make happen by taking a test or procuring some sort of certificate. There is value in age. Knowledge. Experience.

By all means, go out into the world each day and make the most out of each day but do not turn your eyes away from people who hurt others, people who turn their back on people who need help where you can provide help.

As we age our focus on what is important changes. We shift our resources from home, car, clothes and possessions to things like insurance, health care or other things that give us a sense of security. In some ways it is a false sense of security.

Perhaps this is one reason for marriage? Perhaps it is a reason some couples stay together later in life.

In the end none of us want to die alone. In actuality though, it is the journey to our death that is something to think about. Perhaps one more reason for marriage or a partnership in life.

Myles Rose is the founder of ﻿Guitar Amplifier Blueprinting which provides support services and training for touring bands and individuals as well as blueprinting services. You may contact me from the link. My direct contact information is provided as well as links to two of the Internet forums where I answer technical questions. You may also ask questions in any post in this blog by using the comment application on each post.

When I am not doing something related to music I do what I can to support the homeless of Los Angeles either directly on the streets at night or through my good friends at Union Rescue Mission.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Today I checked my email as usual and read a disturbing message from Andy Bales, the CEO of Union Rescue Mission.

Last month things were looking pretty good. This is the October video from Andy Bales at Union Rescue Mission.

Yesterday was a terrific Veteran's Day lunch program (thanks to http://www.dailygrill.com/ for the great food and serving the Veterans)

Today I read this email:

Dear Friends,

On August 8, 2006 5 sweet ladies became our “Pioneers” when they moved from Union Rescue Mission’s downtown location on Skid Row to the safety of Hope Gardens Family Center. Since then, thanks to Union Rescue Mission and Hope Gardens Family Center, hundreds of moms and over 1800 children have been rescued from the streets! And, with capital support from faithful friends, foundations and including the LA County Board of Supervisors through their Homeless and Housing Program we’ve been able to renovate all of the buildings at Hope Gardens Family Center, expanding our capacity to care for moms and precious children at Hope Gardens by almost 300%. Our goal (and mandate from the county) that no child be left on Skid Row could literally be reached by March thanks to you and hundreds of others.

Tragically, as of the date of this e-mail, the County Supervisors have yet to renew their commitment of subsidizing a portion of the operating costs which is crucial to the success and sustainability of Hope Gardens in these devastating economic times.

We’ve come too far to stop now!

If you live in LA County, please contact the Supervisor for your district and urge them to renew the operating subsidy portion of the HHPF so that we can accomplish our goal and make sure that no children are living on Skid Row! You can click here to download a sample letter/e-mail you can customize. You will find contact information for each of the 5 LA County Supervisors below. There is also a link for you to use below if you are unsure of the district you live in.

On behalf of the moms and precious children waiting to move from Skid Row to Hope Gardens Family Center, thank you!

Sincerely,
Rev. Andy Bales
CEO, Union Rescue Mission

To find the district your LA County Supervisor is in, you can go to this site and enter your address.

Myles Rose is the founder of ﻿Guitar Amplifier Blueprinting which provides support services and training for touring bands and individuals as well as blueprinting services. I offer consulting services to various amplifier designers and manufacturers. The link www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com has links to music industry forums which I moderate and direct email contact information. My shop is located in the complex at www.65amps.com. If you wish a tour of 65 Amps please feel free to contact me directly. When I am not doing something related to music I do what I can to support the homeless of Los Angeles either directly on the streets at night or through my good friends at Union Rescue Mission.

Dan Portnoy shot. Don't get the impression that Andy Bales spends nights on the street when the news media shows up. He has spent more than a few nights on skid row to say the least. I wish the news media reported things like this every day because this is the story on the streets of skid row ... every day.

Andy Bales is living on the sidewalks of skid row this morning... the most dangerous time to be out ,,, the beginning of the end of the first of the month,, right when folks get their food stamps and sell them for their last effort to buy their drug of choice.. dealers out in full force disguised as homeless..or homeless running for them.

The streets of skid row are always a tough place to be. The holiday season is an even more difficult time of year. If you would like to help my friends and I sponsor a table at Union Rescue Mission to provide a full Thanksgiving dinner to folks please take a look at my blog post at:

Myles Rose is the founder of ﻿Guitar Amplifier Blueprinting which provides support services and training for touring bands and individuals as well as blueprinting services. I offer consulting services to various amplifier designers and manufacturers. The link www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com has links to music industry forums which I moderate and direct email contact information. My shop is located in the complex at www.65amps.com. If you wish a tour of 65 Amps please feel free to contact me directly. When I am not doing something related to music I do what I can to support the homeless of Los Angeles either directly on the streets at night or through my good friends at Union Rescue Mission.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

This post is from last year with a few minor updates. It is time to do it again this year. We did great last year. I hope that this year we can do even better. In the last year the number of children and families who are homeless has risen by 50% and donations have fallen by over 50%.

As of November 25, 2010 our dinner count is now 1,465 dinners!

For 2011 I am not planning a running meal count as trying to get updates from folks was difficult. I will post the final count of what was served for Thanksgiving from URM once we have the data.

For those who help out this year, 2011, and if you are not on the list of great people here, please feel free to send me your information so you can be added to the list. You may use any name you wish, advertise your company (send me a web URL) etc. More details below.

I am reaching out to my friends, to my associates in the music industry and to others that would like to help those less fortunate during this holiday season.

This year, more people than ever before in our nation's history are facing a difficult holiday season.

The economy continues to take a toll on the population. I personally see the numbers of homeless increase month after month on the streets of Los Angeles.

Homeless is not a label which is reserved for people who have mental problems, drug or alcohol problems or have personality disorders. There are people on the streets like you and me. People who were a productive part of society who have lost their jobs due to the economy. People who have lost their homes.

Union Rescue Mission is the oldest and largest of the Los Angeles missions. They are highly organized, very efficient and have a track record of long term recovery that goes back over 100 years. The stretch a dollar farther than anybody I have seen stretch a dollar. URM provides a full meal for about $1.84.

I am asking my friends for help. There are a number of ways you can help. The bullet points below hit the high points. Further down in this piece there are additional details.

You may donate $10 (feed a family of five people) via a text message from your cell phone

No matter which way you choose to donate please drop me a note, email, tweet (myles111us), facebook message (mylesr) or send me a text if you have my cell number so I can keep the meal count updated on this blog piece. (for 2011 I am not attempting to keep an ongoing meal count as mentioned above but feel free to send me your information so I can add you to folks being thanked.

For $36.80 you can sponsor a table at Thanksgiving. The table is for 20 people. You can also sponsor partial tables. I got the ball rolling with the first contribution from this blog post:

Sponsor a table at Union Rescue Mission

Go to the official URM website and page where you can sponsor one or more tables. This is a fast and easy method, they send you confirmation and documentation as this is fully tax deductible.

The cost of a meal is only $1.84. No credit card? No pay-pal? Do you have a cell phone? To donate $10 to Union Rescue Mission, text the letters URM to 85944. You will receive a confirmation text message. Reply with the word YES to complete the transaction. This will supply five Thanksgiving dinners. Please send me a message if you donate in that way so I can keep track of our meal count from the music industry and my friends.

Many of you helped me when Hope Gardens was in trouble. I am asking for your help again.

This is something of a collective effort. We can pool our resources and let folks know that there is a collective group out there who care, pool resources and spread the word on the homeless situation.

If you donate to Union Rescue Mission using any method, please feel free to send me your name or company. Your supplied information will be included at the bottom of this blog where a number of folks are noted if you desire to be listed. It does not have to be your own name. The donation can be in the name of a loved one, family member, organization, company, your dog, a cause of some type or just about anything you wish. You will also be listed on the main blog site at the bottom of each page.2011 update - please send me your name or information if you donate this year if you are not listed from last year and I will add you to this post.

About 3/4 of a million folks have read this blog since July 1, 2010. I would be happy to post a link or name of anybody who support the homeless. September 2011 update: There have been over 5 million readers.

Cannot afford to sponsor an entire table? Don't let that stop you. Even a few dollars helps. Many of you have spare change sitting in your paypal account. That $8.43 that may not enough to buy a book off Amazon or a cool effects pedal off of Ebay. On the URM page you can donate in any amount and they will put it together with other donations.

Every dollar helps. The salt alone for the stuffing could be paid for by one small donation. Here is Chef Larry's recipe for stuffing; for 4,500 people :)

250 pounds crusty bread

32 pounds butter

500 onions, diced

500 celery stalks, diced

63 cups minced fresh parsley leaves

62 table spoons salt

125 table spoons ground black pepper

500 cups chicken broth

500 large eggs

As a collective group can help each other raise awareness, pass along links and information and be a stronger group than we might be as individuals.

If you send a donation to Union Rescue Mission for Thanksgiving please feel free to let me know. I am trying to keep a running total of the number of meals we have sponsored as a group.

Contributions to URM are fully tax deductible.

All money that is sent to me this month via my own paypal account will be sent to URM. I will post an audit trail in this blog entry of any transfers to URM which are normally used to purchase snacks which I provide to people on the streets in the late evenings.

Below is an audit trail on money I collected myself from friends or donated myself that has been sent to URM via paypal. This does not include money that was sent directly to URM by friends who tell me how many meals they donated so I can keep an ongoing meal count going on this post. Thank you to everybody who have helped and thank you to others who will be helping in advance.

11/3/10 6:30pm update: The count was at 127 on 11/3 at 6:30pm. Uneven counts bug me so I added another $25 for 13+ more dinners to round things up. The count was then 140 dinners.

Here is a slide show of how the folks mentioned here helped for this 2011 event. Thank you all again. I will be uploading more photos over the next few days. The first uploads were from the day of the event on November 19, 2011

Myles Rose is the founder of ﻿Guitar Amplifier Blueprinting which provides support services and training for touring bands and individuals as well as blueprinting services. You may contact me from the link. My direct contact information is provided as well as links to two of the Internet forums where I answer technical questions. You may also ask questions in any post in this blog by using the comment application on each post.

When I am not doing something related to music I do what I can to support the homeless of Los Angeles either directly on the streets at night or through my good friends at Union Rescue Mission.

Monday, November 1, 2010

My pants too short and 8 out of 10 amps I tested on this day failed :-)

Helping guitarists sound better, one amp at a time. Some questions from two columns I write may be posted as blog entries from time to time.

Some questions have been addressed in a few fun videos. I will also post links from time to time with updates on additional questions or commentary. If you have a specific question feel free to post it in this post as a comment, post it on one of the forums or send to my email listed in my profile here.

My GAB website covers a subject or two -http://www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com/ and there are many resources on the right side of this blog that may be of interest or help as well. I am updating this blog site more often than my GAB website as a side note.

I will not cover much of that in this post as the old posts are still there for folks.

I posted some vacuum tube information, posted some of my thoughts on the economy and the world in general on twitter and facebook.

This post will be primarily snapshots and a bit of commentary on some random items and activity. A bit more informal than some of my other posts.

I would like to open this post with this shot from a friend of mine Mark Horne. Mark is a guitarist and tour bus driver. If you have seen a Trace Adkins show you have probably seen Mark. He is a killer guitarist and raises cattle when he is not on the road. I have been watching these guys grow up for a while now which is pretty cool. I won't talk about where they will end up as some folks may go veggie on me and get upset :)

I drove in traffic in the rain at 5:30pm on the 405 with Dan Boul one day. The Perfect Storm when it comes to traffic situations.

Dan and I went to TrueTone Music in Santa Monica. We went there to drop off a London Pro amp. We looked at a lot of great guitars and amps, a lot of great vintage stuff.

Recent Instagram Activity - Shots of my own and shared shots of some of my friends

My Yelp Reviews

To Our Active U.S. Military Troops

About Me

I started this blog on December 13, 2009 to raise awareness on the homeless situation which is growing due to the current economic situation in this country. Two priorities at this period in my life are helping the homeless on the streets of Los Angeles and helping musicians sound better one amp at a time.

Who am I?

It is said that a picture is speaks a thousand words. Here are over three thousand random photos in a slide show. This is what I do, who I know, where I go.

An emotionally draining slideshow which mixes art, whimsy, low production values, a general lack of composition, sexual tension, nausea and the feeling of foolishness you have if you can watch the entire show from beginning to end.

What could be better than an album of nothing but low resolution shots taken with my cellphone (and a few from friends cellphones as well) ... and then, take these low resolution photos and upload them in real time to facebook where the quality and size is reduced even more?

Why I do what I do

To the folks who ask why I do what I do.

For many decades I worked in the corporate sector for very large companies. I worked many hours each week.

On some occasions I actually felt as if I made a change in a life. I could help somebody in their career. I could teach somebody something technical. Those sorts of things.

40-60 hours a week or more was generally not all that rewarding other than the friends I made along the way and the occasional change as I was able to make a difference.

I worked hard to make changes in my own life as most of us do. I made money to buy a house, raise a family. Family and friends are one side of our lives. The outside world is another.

I now have two main "jobs" each day. One is to help guitarists sound better, one amp at a time. I help folks in the music business and pass on what I have learned over decades walking this planet. I also try to help other people who are building their own career. That is one of the joys of being my age. You can help those on their path of building their own lives.

My second "job" is helping the homeless on the streets on Los Angeles. Five or ten hours on the street each week helping people makes more of a direct impact on more people than a month of work in my old life. Whether I feed people a snack, listen to what they have to say, give them a card from http://www.urm.org/ or walk them down to Union Rescue Mission I feel I am making life a little better for somebody.

In order to do something good one generally has to do something as in perform some sort of action. Los Angeles has the highest homeless population in the nation. Perhaps I feel as if I needed to do something.

Pay Pal Donations and a bit more information

My paypal button. If you wish to make a direct donation to supply night time snacks to the homeless in the streets of Los Angeles please use the paypal button below.

The link below to paypal is to donate money for the healthy snacks I pass out to the folks that live on the street in the evenings. These are the folks that for their own reasons do not partake of the services offered by the missions.

My evening time spent on skid row is my own activity. The residents of the streets of skid row are my teachers. They each have things to say if you take the time to listen.

Helping me directly via paypal is not tax deductible. As many of you know more than 100% of these funds go to snacks for the folks on the street as I tend to take cash out of my own pocket.

If you would rather contribute to an organization where you can receive a tax deduction and use credit card, paypal, text message, personal check or most any other form of payment just hit the donate button at http://urm.org/ These folks know how to stetch a dollar and $10 will feed five people a healthy hot meal. The folks at URM help those in the system so to speak. I try to help those who reject organized assistance for their own personal reasons and do not wish to be in any system. In addition to my own activities I also contribute out of my own pocket to Union Rescue Mission.

Thank you

Union Rescue Mission - What they do.

I talk a lot about Union Rescue Mission on this blog. I also talk a lot about them on facebook. I talk about them on my GAB website.

Many of my friends have become friends with Union Rescue Mission and members of their staff. I am sure many of you feel the same way I do about what they do and are a little bit better for knowing them.

There is a place on the URM website where there are a few videos. If you take a few minutes to look at this page and the videos you may learn a bit more about the work these folks do. http://www.urm.org/services/what-we-do.html

Video Channel for Union Rescue Mission

I had a little video widget but blogger seems to have timing issues with youtube. Random videos were usually displayed from everywhere. The direct link below is much more reliable.

Take a few moments to make a big difference

To donate $10 to Union Rescue Mission, text the letters URM to 85944. You will receive a confirmation text message. Reply with the word YES to complete the transaction.

Serving thousands of meals per day is just one of many services provided by the folks at URM.

From the URM website: The Union Rescue Mission (URM) is one of the largest missions of its kind in America--bringing help and hope to homeless and desperately poor men, women, and children of downtown Los Angeles.

URM was founded in 1891 by Lyman Stewart, president and founder of Union Oil Company. George A. Hilton served as the first superintendent of the Mission, originally known as the Pacific Gospel Union. During those early days, URM took to the streets in gospel wagons to offer food, clothing, and salvation to the less fortunate.

Over the years URM has continued and expanded its efforts to feed both the body and the soul, helping individuals and families break the cycle of poverty and achieve self-sufficiency.

Saunders Stewart Models

Although I generally wear flannel and Levi 501s some seem to think I know a bit about fashion and take a decent photograph now and then. I am an owner/partner in a model agency ( www.saunders-stewart-models.com). We supply models to the music industry (music videos), spokesmodels, product models etc. If you would like to be considered for SSM representation (non-exclusive if you desire) please send an email to models@guitaramplifierblueprinting.com.

Continually changing shots of a few SSM models available for your projects

Subscribers

Blog Traffic - Total Post Reads

I track both subscriber count and reader/visitor count as they are two different sets of data. Subscribers are the long term audience who get updates each time something new is posted or an ongoing post is updated.

Subscriber statistics are in the section above this entry on the page.

This blog was created in December 2009. Statistics were enabled on July 1, 2010. From July 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013 there were more than 12 million reads of this blog.

The average readership is over 350,000 readers per month. There have been months with over two times that amount depending on the subjects posted. Posts are also seen on facebook, twitter, google buzz, blogger, digg it, atom and many other services that have opted to distribute my antics for reasons that are at times a mystery to me.

My Guitar Amplifier Blueprinting website continues to receive over 5,000 visitors per day but I now update this blog much more often than my GAB website. It is easier to update, I can do it from any computer or cell phone and has a content which is much more diverse than my music related website.

Thanks for following, thanks for reading and thank you for sending the link of this site to your friends.

Andy Bales and the staff of Union Rescue Mission, Jacqui Groseth, Alexander Cornejo II. Located in downtown Los Angeles, URM is the oldest and largest mission in the nation. The staff and entire organization at URM make me feel that my own small efforts to help the homeless have some degree of value. These folks serve over 3,000 meals a day (over a million meals a year) 365 days a year three meals a day. When I feel that the end goal seems to be like one pushing against the incoming tide and feel beaten down I think of Andy Bales and his staff and find a bit more drive to continue. Look at their website to see how many services these folks offer. www.urm.org